Insights
Patent Litigation 2022 in Turkey
1. What are the principal sources of law and regulation relating to patents and patent litigation? At national level, the main sources of patent law are the: Industrial Property Code No. 6769 (IP Code). Regulation on the Implementation of the IP Code. Regulation on Employees' Invention, Inventions Realised in Higher Education Institutions and Inventions Realised as a Result of Publicly Funded Projects. Regulation on the Implementation of the… »
Employment and Employee Benefits 2022 in Turkey
1. Do the main laws that regulate the employment relationship apply to: Foreign nationals working in your jurisdiction? Nationals of your jurisdiction working abroad? Laws Applicable to Foreign Nationals Under Article 27 of the Act on Private International and Procedural Law No. 5718, employment contracts with a foreign element are subject to the governing law chosen by the parties, without prejudice to the minimum protection that employees are… »
Determination of Evidence in Disputes Over Pharmaceutical Patents
Introduction The determination of evidence, one of the most important temporary legal protection measures regulated in Turkish law, is an institution that ensures the protection of evidence which will assist in proving the matter in question. Considering that the adversarial trial process is adopted in Turkish civil procedure law, the significance of the rights holder being able to have the evidence that will help them prove themselves effectively determined is clear.… »
Implementation of the Limitation of Goods and Services by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office
The office provides an opportunity to limit the list of goods/services in terms of international trademark applications filed via WIPO However, it does not allow applicants to limit goods and services when it comes to national trademark applications This controversial approach eliminates a method commonly used by applicants to avoid potential disputes Limitation of goods/services The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (‘office’) applies the Nice Classification for the… »
Developments in the Obligation of Registration to Data Controllers’ Registry
In accordance with Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (the “DPL”) and the Regulation on Data Controllers’ Registry (“Regulation”), data controllers shall get registered to the Data Controllers’ Registry (“VERBIS”). In terms of the private sector, periods regarding the registration obligation has expired as of 31.12.2021 for (i) data controllers located outside of Turkey, (ii) data controllers having more than 50 employees annually or an annual balance sheet with a value… »
State Council’s Decision on the Rules and Procedures Regarding Experts at Insurance Arbitration Commission
Article 16(12) of the Regulation on Insurance Arbitration ("the Regulation") stipulates that arbitrators can decide to get the opinion and vote of an expert upon the request of one of the parties or ex-officio, if the case requires special or technical knowledge which falls outside of legal expertise. Board of Directors of the Insurance Arbitration Commission issues a list of experts for the arbitrators to apply each year as per the rules set out by the Turkish Insurance and… »
Authorization Obligation is on the Horizon for OTT Services
The law, known as the 'disinformation law,' entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette on October 18, 2022. The new period for all OTT service providers, which provide interpersonal electronic communications services within the scope of audio, visual, written communications provided to the end users or subscribers having internet access, independently from the operators and internet services, through a publicly available software, has started on October… »
Court of Cassation Puts an End to Long-Running Sheraton Dispute
Background In 2015 the Turkish Court of Cassation (CoC) found that the trademark SOYIÇ HOTEL and device (depicted below on the left) was confusingly similar to Sheraton’s well-known device mark (depicted below on the right), so that there was likelihood of confusion (decision of the 11th Chamber of the Court of Cassation dated 9 March 2015, merit number 2014/ 18262, decision number 2015/ 3101). The CoC also held that Sheraton’s device trademark is well known in its… »
Patent and Trademark Office Rejects Applications Based on Interdependence Principle
The ‘interdependence principle’ was clearly established by the CJEU in Canon In two recent cases, the Patent and Trademark Office explicitly mentioned and set out the conditions for the application of the interdependence principle In one of the cases, the Office also found that an application including the dominant element ‘camelbak’ could not have been filed in good faith The Interdependence Principle For an application to be rejected under Article 6/1 of the Turkish… »
A First for Turkey as Court Decides Preliminary Injunctions Can Apply to NFTs
Despite legal uncertainties, court decisions in various jurisdictions have grasped with the issues of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), digital tokens that cannot be exchanged or replaced and may represent a tangible object in the real world. For the first time, a court in Turkey rendered a preliminary injunction (PI) regarding NFTs on June 21, 2022. In the dispute filed before the Istanbul Third Civil Intellectual Property Court (court), heirs of Cem Karaca, who was an artist… »
Debate on well-known Trademark Registry Expected to be Resolved Soon
The PTO is determined to maintain its well-known trademark registry, even though the Court of Cassation held that it has no authority to do so Rights owners may continue to file applications for the recognition and recordation of their trademarks as well knownbefore the PTO New regulation is expected to give the PTO explicit authority to keep the well-known trademark registry Background In 2020 the Court of Cassation concluded that the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) had… »
Decision on Pricing of Human Medicinal Products Amended
The Presidency published a Decision (Turkish language) numbered 6207 amending the Decision on Pricing of Human Medicinal Products (Decision) in the Official Gazette numbered 31928 and dated 12 October 2022. The Decision amends the provision regarding profit rates and determined higher brackets for the calculation of pharmacist profit which is derived from the wholesaler price. The new brackets are as follows: The pharmacist profit is 28% of the wholesaler price when the… »